Frog, Log & Dave: A brush with evil by Trent Jamieson & Brent Wilson

Following on from Book 1, Frog Log and Dave’s band now have a drummer, Pollutodude, and call themselves the Quad Bikes. Poor sales and reviews of their second album mean they need to keep their day job as delivery drivers in the much-modified Excalivan. Meanwhile Count Evil Von Evil is plotting revenge for having his plan to pollute the city thwarted by Jeremy in book one. Pigeon Jeremy is the band’s most devoted fan but probably loves his job at the Toothbrush Instruction Writing Company more, so Count Evil Von Evil’s first move is to buy the factory and make Jeremy in charge of research and development. When the Count orders a large shark to be delivered to the factory, the Quad Bikes get drawn into his evil plan.

With bold, colourful cartoons and plenty of action there is nothing subtle about the team’s adventures. Quirky humour with running jokes that build on the previous book’s characters and some sound effects that cry out to be read aloud, make this a must for young readers looking for a series. At 160 pages this graphic novel is long enough to engage the reader and fast paced enough to maintain interest. Just for a bit of fun there is a page at the end of this quality, hardback edition on how to draw the Frog character and colourful endpapers packed with jellybabies hiding clues from the story.

Themes: Graphic Novel, Adventure, Cartoon humour, Friendship.

Sue Speck